Countless articles on DU have linked to this fact - so I don't how that's possible - unless it's sold here.

But as I understand - those contracts are done.

loading facilities proposed. From Houston they can easily ship to the Western EU, 100's of miles less than Mid East oil shipped by supertanker, (cant go thru the Suez) around the Cape of Good Hope (Africa). Supertankers loaded in Vancouver can ship to Asia, which again would be 100's of miles shorter than Mid East oil shipped to Asia. Remember that the Panama and Suez canals cannot handle large tankers. The routes I describe avoid both these canals, giving the Tar Sands Partners a better margin than ME oil.

SO pipielines from ALberta to both coasts gives the Albert Tar Sands partners acess to Asian and EU markets, with shorter shipping routes than mid East oil.

Though, I would guess youre wrong about any contracts at this time. But thats not the point, being to ship 3 or 4 million barrels a day to markets where you have a advantage in shippings costs compared to ME oil, is a huge incentive.

http://www.tarsandsaction.org/spread-the-word/key-facts-keystone-xl/

Keystone XL will not lessen U.S. dependence on foreign oil, but transport Canadian oil to American refineries for export to overseas markets.
Keystone XL is an export pipeline. According to presentations to investors, Gulf Coast refiners plan to refine the cheap Canadian crude supplied by the pipeline into diesel and other products for export to Europe and Latin America. Proceeds from these exports are earned tax-free. Much of the fuel refined from the pipeline’s heavy crude oil will never reach U.S. drivers’ tanks.
Reducing demand for oil is the best way to improve our energy security. U.S. demand for oil has been declining since 2007. New fuel-efficiency standards mean that this trend will continue once the economy gets back on track. In fact, the Energy Deptartment report on KeystoneXL found that decreasing demand through fuel efficiency is the only way to reduce mid-east oil imports with or without the pipeline.
More info:
“Exporting Energy Security: Keystone XL Exposed”, Oil Change International
Gas prices: Keystone XL will increase gas prices for Americans—Especially Farmers
By draining Midwestern refineries of cheap Canadian crude into export-oriented refineries in the Gulf Coast, Keystone XL will increase the cost of gas for Americans.
TransCanada’s 2008 Permit Application states “Existing markets for Canadian heavy crude, principally PADD II [U.S. Midwest], are currently oversupplied, resulting in price discounting for Canadian heavy crude oil. Access to the USGC [U.S. Gulf Coast] via the Keystone XL Pipeline is expected to strengthen Canadian crude oil pricing in [the Midwest] by removing this oversupply. This is expected to increase the price of heavy crude to the equivalent cost of imported crude. The resultant increase in the price of heavy crude is estimated to provide an increase in annual revenue to the Canadian producing industry in 2013 of US $2 billion to US $3.9 billion.”
Independent analysis of these figures found this would increase per-gallon prices by 20 cents/gallon in the Midwest.
According to an independent analysis U.S. farmers, who spent $12.4 billion on fuel in 2009 could see expenses rise to $15 billion or higher in 2012 or 2013 if the pipeline goes through. At least $500 million of the added expense would come from the Canadian market manipulation.


Exporting Energy Security: Keystone XL Exposed
http://www.policyinnovations.org/ideas/policy_library/data/01614


1. The Keystone XL pipeline is an export pipeline. The Gulf Coast refiners at the end of the pipeline's route are focused on expanding exports, and the nature of the tar sands crude Keystone XL delivers enhances their capacity to do so.

2. Valero, the top beneficiary of the Keystone XL pipeline, has recently explicitly detailed an export strategy to its investors. The nation's top refiner has locked in at least 20 percent of the pipeline's capacity, and, because its refinery in Port Arthur is within a Foreign Trade Zone, the company will accomplish its export strategy tax free.

3. The oil market has changed markedly in the last several years, with U.S. demand decreasing, and U.S. production increasing for the first time in 40 years. Higher fuel economy standards and slow economic growth have led to a decline in U.S. gasoline demand, while technological advances have opened up new sources in the United States. Increasingly, U.S. refiners are turning to export.

The oil market is fundamentally global. The only way to reduce dependence on foreign oil is to reduce dependence on all oil.
These facts reveal the important truth that the Keystone XL pipeline would not in fact enhance U.S. energy security at all. The construction of Keystone XL will not lessen U.S. dependence on foreign oil—rather, it will feed the growing trend of exporting refined products out of the United States, thereby doing nothing to enhance energy security or to stabilize oil prices or gasoline prices at the pump. If completed, it will successfully achieve a long-term objective of Canadian tar sands producers—to gain access to export markets.


Keystone Pipeline: Jobs? Energy Independence?
http://zfacts.com/node/388

***snip

Forty percent of Canadian oil comes from tar sands and, currently, 20% of the United States' oil imports come from Canada. The United States currently imports 21% of its oil from the Middle East. - Investopedia
America’s #1 export in 2011 was refined fuel. Shocked? Don’t be. Despite the staggering price of gas at the pump, the US ships gas, diesel and jet fuel off to developing countries like China. The reason? US consumption of oil has declined since 2006 and North Dakota has a glut of shale oil. Underutilized Midwest refineries refine the shale and export to China [and other countries]. And Big Oil wants to export even more.
That’s where the Keystone Pipeline XL enters the room. Few Americans understand that Keystone is an export pipeline. It will link Alberta Canada’s tar sands to Gulf Coast refineries where it will be exported to the highest bidder, most likely China and India.
The TransCanada Corp. folks want you to believe Keystone will benefit you. It will do nothing of the tar sands sort. It will not reduce American dependence on Middle Eastern oil. It will not reduce the price of gas. It will not produce thousands of permanent jobs. - MetroWest Daily News, Jan 29, 2012

Talk to a repug and they'll tell you that you are lying and making stuff up. Facts just don't matter to them.